Children's home run by We Are Beams in Sevenoaks

Inspection report for children's home: SC435152 1 SC435152 Registered provider: We Are Beams Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a charity. The service is registered to provide short breaks for up to six children at any one time with learning disabilities and/or complex needs. Currently, 46 children are using the service. There were two children having their short break during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2023 and is suitably qualified.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC435152 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/04/2022 Full Good 18/05/2021 Full Good 30/07/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC435152 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their stays at the home. They can personalise their bedrooms and bring items from home to make them feel more comfortable. Children are supported by friendly, fun staff who know them well. Staff encourage the children to take part in preparing their meals, take care of their rooms and play games with one another.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a large garden that has recently undergone a full make-over. The garden is fully accessible to children of all ages and abilities. Children are supported and encouraged to explore and have fun in the garden. This supports children to socialise and keep fit in a fun way, and it allows children with mobility needs to still access everything that their peers do. The interior of the home is bright and well decorated. The kitchen has height-adjustable worktops. The bathrooms have height- adjustable sinks, adapted showers and an adapted jacuzzi bath, which are all accessible to children with additional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to take part in meetings in the home. Children who use alternative communication means are helped to contribute their views using their chosen means. Children’s views are considered by the manager and acted on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are actively supported and encouraged by staff to improve their independence skills. Children have three targets to work towards during their stays, which include an independence target such as getting dressed or undressed. One parent said that they could not believe this would ever happen and that they cannot believe their child is working on their independence skills. In addition, children’s developmental targets are linked to their school targets where possible. This helps to support the children’s educational progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children start using the service, they benefit from gradual, planned introductions so they are familiar with the home before they have their first overnight stay. Staff hold a review with the family and the social worker after the first overnight stay to assess how it went and to plan further stays. This ensures that the service is right for the child, that the staff can meet their needs and that the children are happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are fully assessed and understood. Care is individualised, and staff provide consistent care. This enables the children to make progress during their stays and to enjoy their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the health needs of the children. There are detailed support plans in place that are agreed by the parents and carers. There are strict processes in place for receiving and returning the children’s medication to parents and carers. Inspection report for children's home: SC435152 4 Staff are fully trained to administer medication and are signed off as competent by a senior member of the leadership team before they administer medication.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff keep and maintain accurate records about the children and their stays. This supports the staff to know if anything has changed and if the children’s plans need updating. Clear and detailed risk assessments are in place, which means the children are cared for by staff who know them well and know how to keep them safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff provide children with clear guidance and boundaries that are understood by the children. Support plans are in place to guide staff to recognise the children’s behaviours, the possible triggers and to care for the children if they become overwhelmed. This means that staff can manage challenging behaviour and keep the children safe. If any incident occurs, parents and carers are informed. Physical restraints are rarely used and are only used as a last resort.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children do not go missing from the home. However, there is a clear policy in place should this happen, and staff know and understand the policy.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children who need dedicated one-to-one support throughout their stays, including waking night staff, are provided with this to ensure they are well cared for and kept safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have regular training. Safeguarding training is updated regularly. The home uses a trained nurse to deliver more specialised training to the staff to ensure that the children are safely cared for. When caring for children who live with epilepsy, there are additional seizure management plans in place to ensure safe care.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff keep accurate records of any concerns or changes in the children’s behaviour and share these with the parents, carers and social workers. This ensures that any new behaviours are known and understood.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Some notifiable events have not been shared with Ofsted by the manager. Additionally, a child protection referral to a child’s placing authority was not made within the home’s own agreed timeframes. This meant that the placing authority was not aware of a potential child protection concern, limiting the time they had to investigate the concern prior to the child going home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic about the service, as is the responsible individual. The manager knows the children well and their family circumstances. The manager has introduced several new monitoring systems. This helps them to regularly review the service and the areas for improvement that are needed. Inspection report for children's home: SC435152 5 The manager has good working relationships with the children’s families and other agencies. They work well with other agencies to address any concerns and to support the children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers look for ways to improve their service by regularly gathering feedback from parents, carers and children. The manager attends statutory meetings for the children who use the service and provides clear and concise reports that detail the progress children have made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person visits the home regularly and reports on what they find, including areas for improvement. The report from the independent person does not always explore the quality of the health plans in place for the children. Given the needs of the children using the service, this is a missed opportunity to scrutinise the effectiveness of these plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides regular supervision to the staff. The supervision is of a good standard. Open and honest supervision is encouraged, with an emphasis on discussing the children who have had recent stays and how successful those stays have been.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes equality and diversity well. The staff promote religious festivals and other cultural awareness events during the children’s stays.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One complaint has been made since the last inspection. This complaint was taken seriously, and a resolution meeting was held and a solution was agreed. However, the outcome was not shared formally in writing with the complainant. Inspection report for children's home: SC435152 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must refer any child protection concerns to the relevant authorities within their own agreed timescales. 27 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must notify Ofsted when there is a child protection enquiry or any other incident relating to a child that is considered serious. 27 October 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC435152 7 The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 27 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the independent person reviews and comments on the quality and suitability of the health plans for the children. 27 October 2023

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children's home: SC435152 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Allsworth Court, 38-40 St David’s Road, Swanley, Kent BR8 7RJ

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Inspector

Jules Harrild, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC435152 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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